


Flashes

by Belekoroz



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, It's just meant to be soft, Near Death Experiences, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25251883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Belekoroz/pseuds/Belekoroz
Summary: While on a mission to escort a senator, Anakin has flashes of his lost memories from Mortis, Dogma helps.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Dogma (Star Wars)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 59





	Flashes

Anakin scowled, kicking a chunk of ashy rock to the side as he trudged forwards. 

He had been assigned to escort a senator to a diplomatic meetup on a distant lava planet, one the Republic was desperate to come to an agreement with. Unfortunately, things went wrong very quickly, as they seemed to do quite often nowadays. One ambush later (which was clearly meant to have the senator separated from all her guards, but thankfully failed), found him marching miserably through the heat with the senator, Dogma, and Sleeper- a newer addition to the 212th.

"So how far away is this safe house again?" He turned his head back slightly to glance at the senator, biting back the scathing tone he desperately wanted to use. 

The senator snapped her head up, looking confused momentarily. It was clear she hadn't been paying attention to their surroundings at all. "Oh ah… Well this lava river up ahead, if we follow it for a bit there will be a bridge. It's right on the other side."

Anakin shot a sympathetic look back as the two clones behind him let out quiet groans. If the idea of following so close to a river of lava was miserable to him, he couldn't imagine how bad it must be while wearing full armor. Sleeper looked unfortunately worse for wear, clearly having tripped at some point, as the entire front of his newly painted armor was covered in soot. Well, he wouldn't be getting anymore "shiny" comments after this, at the very least. 

Despite the small groans and the obvious discomfort that Anakin could feel emanating from the two through the force, they made no other complaints, and simply followed along behind, making quiet conversation every once in a while. 

The senator on the other hand, was another story. 

"Why on earth are we subjecting ourselves to this anyways? Could we not just… Find a nice cool cave to sit in and wait for the other diplomats to find us?" She said, the slightest whine evident in her voice.

Anakin's face morphed into a scowl, and he remained staring forwards towards the river, which was slowly but surely growing closer. "With all due respect senator, as it stands, there would be no way for them _to_ find us. We must reach the safe house to make contact with them through the communication block, as I explained earlier." He said slowly, a small sarcastic lilt to his voice. 

Dogma coughed behind them, quite obviously to cover up a laugh, Anakin sending an affection mental nudge to him in response. The senator did not raise her voice in complaint again. 

* * *

It was another two standard hours or so before they reached the river, and another before they neared the bridge. Unfortunately, the heat exhaustion had long since begun to set in, and even Anakin found himself stumbling over small cracks and loose rocks. 

After nearly falling flat on his face for the umpteenth time, Anakin stopped and spun to face the senator, agitation clear on his face. "Alright, so _where_ exactly is this bridge supposed to be?"

The senator stopped, pausing to glance up and examine the mountain ridges surrounding them, a grin slowly spreading on her face as she spun to point slightly ahead at the river. "Look, it's there!" she exclaimed excitedly. 

Anakin stared out at the river, horror doning on his face as he stared at the "bridge", which in reality, was a thin ridge of rocks that crossed the expanse of the lava, with a small gap partway through, one that would need to be jumped over. "This.. This is your idea of a bridge?" He snapped as he rounded on the senator. 

"It is a pathway which you use to cross the river, so, yes?" She replied in confusion, clearly seeing no problems with the current circumstances, nor any problems with the bridge.

Anakin inhaled deeply, screwing his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose. His head was pounding now from the heat and he really just wanted this to be over with. "Alright. Dogma, Sleeper." He started, eyes opening and shifting to the clones. "I want you two out in front, then you senator." He explained, pointedly avoiding eye contact with said senator, as he moved to examine the beginning of the bridge. "The rock seems sturdy, and I can lift the three of you across the gap, looks a little too far for a safe jump without the force." He finished with a nod, affirming himself of his plan. 

Sleeper and Dogma glanced briefly at each other, the gesture easily definable as one of nervousness, despite the fact that their faces were not visible. They voiced no complaints though, and moved forwards, both taking turns to step cautiously out onto the path. After a few moments of hesitation, the senator stepped out after them, clearly now realising the peril of crossing the bridge she had been so confident in. 

Anakin finally stepped out, the heat from the lava surrounding the small bridge engulfing him quickly. He inhaled deeply, and pushed his discomfort away, eyeing the small square building he knew was their safe house goal on the other side of the river. 

Now, the walk across went without any issues, other than the pounding headache Anakin developed quickly along the way, it wasn't until they reached the gap in the path that things began to go south. 

"Alright Sleeper, I'll lift you across first, then the senator, then Dogma." He explained, gesturing to the end of the path for Sleeper to move into place. He moved into place without any complaint, while the senator grew more and more nervous behind them. 

Anakin did his best to ignore her, reaching out with the force and focusing on Sleeper, gently lifting him into the air. He felt the slight nervousness coming from the clone as he was floated over the river, but he remained still, and reached the other side without any issue. 

The senator was next, and took quite a bit more focus to keep the force still and lifting around her, as she continuously fidgeted, the life signature around her rank with fear. He dropped her a little early, her feet hitting the ground on the other side with a thump as the pressure in his head grew. He grit his teeth against the pain, ignoring the odd flashes of images and sounds echoing around his head. 

He blinked blearily, looking back at Dogma. "Alright, come on then, your turn." He said with a comforting grin. 

Dogma moved into position, leaning back into Anakin's force hold on him as he was lifted, the trust between him and his General clearly evident where it had not been with Sleeper or the senator. Dogma was quickly and gently deposited on the other side, and Anakin pulled himself back in with a small sigh, rubbing gently at his head. 

He shook his head briefly, before appraising the gap before him. Letting out a breath, he took a running start and lept from the edge, pushing off with the force as he did so. Unfortunately, his head chose this exact moment to violently protest his continued use of the force in his current circumstances, and a sharp bolt of pain pierced his head, skewing what should have been a perfectly aligned jump slightly to the left. 

Anakin slammed into the side of the ridge, scrabbling at the rock as he helplessly slid down the steep slope towards the lava below. He glanced quickly downwards, his mind suddenly drawing to a terrifying halt as he took in the sight below him. He felt something _snap_ in his mind, images and sounds flashing across his visions. 

The Son's piercing red eyes, lava and soot and anger surrounding him. Then came the pain… oh god the _pain_.

_"I loved you!"_

And then it was gone, banished by the rough grab of a hand tight on the back of his collar, dragging him bodily back up the ridge, towards safety and away from the flashes and death that had awaited him. 

Back on flat ground, he collapsed forwards onto his hands and knees. His breath now coming in short, heavy gasps as an arm gingerly wrapped around his back, lifting him back up to his feet. He felt himself moving, or being moved, the world around him swimming in dizzy flashing images. One moment he was staring down at the thin path of the bridge, the next he was being dragged towards the door of the safe house. 

He didn't even see the safe house door open, nor did he notice himself enter, but nevertheless he was soon being deposited against the cool metal wall of the building they had been walking towards for hours. 

His breathing did not slow as his mind desperately backtracked to try and make sense of the images and feelings that it had witnessed just moments before. He felt himself growing steadily dizzier as his lungs desperately fought the losing battle to draw in a proper breath. 

But then there was a heavy weight on his legs, pressure on his face, and his attention was drawn outwards, eyes focusing partially on the blurry image of Dogma's alarmed face hovering in front of him. 

"-ir! Sir! Please just.. Listen to me. Whatever you're seeing, it's not real. Listen to my voice, focus on me. _This_ is real." He spoke as gently as he could, despite his panic, emphasizing his point by bracing more of his weight on Anakin's legs, while his hands clasped his face a little tighter. 

The words and physical anchors had the desired effect, Anakin taking a few more sharp breaths before he forced himself to just focus on the weight and form and Dogma in front of him, his own hands coming up to grasp at the clone's wrists. 

After a few minutes of quiet coaxing from Dogma, Anakin's breathing evened out, and his eyes slid shut in evident exhaustion as he leaned back heavier against the wall. 

Dogma sat in awkward silence for a few moments, before tentatively leaning forwards, resting his forehead gently against his General's, the two sitting in silence like this for a few quiet minutes. 

There was a small awkward cough from behind the two, Dogma raising his head to turn and glance towards the noise, while Anakin blearily slid his eyes open, clearly not planning on moving in the near future. 

Sleeper stood, looking decidedly guilty about having to come back into the room during what was obviously a private moment. "I was uh, able to get the communications table up and running. General Kenobi is on his way here now."

"Thanks Sleeper, should ah… Go get the Senator ready to go, yea?" Dogma suggested weakly. It was a rather lame excuse, but Sleeper got the idea, nodding and heading from the room. 

Dogma sighed, and shifted to the right, so that he was sitting beside Anakin, as opposed to half on top of him, ensuring he was still fully pressed against the other man's arm. "Better now?" He asked gently. 

Anakin didn't answer for a few seconds, but eventually nodded minutely. "Yes.. I… Thank you, I don't-" He began to speak quickly, but was stopped even more quickly by Dogma. 

"No, you don't need to explain anything to me, it's alright. Just… Glad you're okay." He mumbled, leaning his own head back against the wall, settling into the silence. 

They stayed sitting this way for the next hour, up until right before Obi-Wan touched down besides the small safe house, Anakin seemingly sensing his descent and peeling himself away from Dogma in response to this. 

Dogma stood quickly after him, fumbling over the thoughts in his head as he tried to get them out quickly, before he was unable to. "Sir I… Please, talk to him about this?" He finally got out, wincing lightly at the lack of tact. 

Anakin stopped, staring silently forwards, seemingly in contemplation. "I'll try." He said eventually, before starting forwards again. 

But he never would. 


End file.
